|
|
Article: ASTEROID HAS AN AFFAIR WITH EARTH SUN ORBITER DANCES A COSMIC BALLET OVER CENTURIES, VAST DISTANCES.(News/National/International)
- Article from:
- Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
- Article date:
- June 16, 1997
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Rocky Mountain News. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Dialog LLC by Gale Group. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Byline: Associated Press
One of the asteroids circling the sun is in an intricate, long-distance dance with the Earth, a ballet whose graceful movements are measured in centuries, scientists have discovered.
It's not like asteroid 3753 and Earth hang around together. They're on opposite sides of the sun much of the time.
The closest 3753 comes to Earth is 9 million to 10 million miles, once every 385 years. The last such passing was about a century ago, according to the analysis by researcher Paul Wiegert and his colleagues.
However, the Earth's gravity does has an effect on the little asteroid's orbit, an effect so subtle ``you have to ...